Parryville Borough

The borough of Parryville is located on the eastern bank of the Lehigh river and on the line of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, about half a dozen miles below Mauch Chunk.

The first settle here was Peter Frantz, who came to the locality in 1780. Leonard Beltz and Frederick Scheckler took up land in the vicinity in 1781.

Upon the organization of the Pine Forest Lumber Company about 1836, this place was made its headquarters. The company owned extensive tracts of rich timber land in the northern part of the county and in the southern portion of Luzerne.

The president of the company was Daniel Parry and as the settlement grew up around these lumber mills, the place became known as Parrysville, and later, Parryville.

In 1836 the Beaver Meadow Railroad Company completed its line to the opposite side of the river from this place, and Parryville became the terminus and shipping point.

New life was injected into the village when, about 1855, Dennis Bauman, his brother Henry, and others, established an anthracite blast furnace here. This furnace was run by water power furnished by the Poho Poco creek until 1857. The company expanded and creek water power being insufficient, steam was introduced as a power source.

Parryville became an independent school district in 1867.

It was incorporated as a borough early in the year 1875, Dennis Bauman serving as its first chief burgess. The town had 657 inhabitants in 1880.